Cole and co
by DD Agent
Summary: The mysterious British ranger finally exposed.
1. Chapter 1

Author: DD Agent  
Title: Cole and Co.

Chapter One: The Early years  
Summary: The mysterious British ranger finally exposed.  
Characters: Marcus Cole  
Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: The only spoilers this story contains is the name of the ranger Marcus Cole (from season 3-4), and the name of the colony and his brother (which aren't really spoilers but if you don't want to know, then don't read on)

Warnings: Fights and swear words.

Disclaimer: All characters are property of Babylonian productions and J. Michael Straczynski, except the names of his older brothers.

F.Y.I. I betaed this myself, as my usual Beta Kay is busy with revising and I didn't want her to stress out. Plus, a big shout out to Jammy and the Cast of _The Serial Killer of Suffolk _(© Lawson Media). Also, after a review which was very handy, I updated the story on their recommendations. Cheers to you.

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Marcus Cole was always a handsome child. He had deep green eyes that quenched knowledge and adventure. He had dark hair that flopped into his eyes. He loved to sit by his father's feet while he read him stories of adventure and of knights and damsels in distress. Marcus especially loved the ones about King Arthur and his round table.

The little knight ran around their small quarters in the orbiting platforms around Arisia Colony with a wooden sword skewering the family cat Tibbles and his older brother Edward. Edward was suave and hated his little brother acting like a little twit when he brought women over. Edward was the eldest child in the family and Fabian was the next oldest. He had neck length brown hair and was only a year older than Marcus was.

In 2228, another little Cole was born. Marcus was only two when his little brother William was born. The little knight was surprised to be the older one for once. However, his mother and father were spending more time with new baby Willy than Marcus, and he hated that. He especially didn't like it when William was now having King Arthur read to him and Marcus was shut out.

At school, Marcus was quite a swot. He was fantastic at English literature, but doodled stories of hideous dragons and such during English Language. Maths wasn't an option. He was good at it, yes, and his father said he had a head for figures, but it didn't interest him any little bit. It was when William came up to school, that things became seesaw territory. William was even a more pathetic dreamer than Marcus was, and often got told off during lessons. However, his dreamer attitude made him get beaten up by the bullies of the local school.

One day, Marcus was reading Charles Dickens _A Christmas Carol_ when his little sister Eleanor came running up to him.

"Marcus, you got to come! Williams getting beaten up by those bullies from Chester Road!"

The ten year old dragged himself out of his comfy world of fiction and ran after his perky sister. There he saw William in the middle of a headlock with Timothy Warwick, the biggest boy he had ever seen.

"Hey! Leave my brother alone!" Marcus yelled. Timothy and his gang looked at him like he was a mad man. They dropped William to the floor panting, and went after Marcus.

Both boys were brought in front of their father at his office at the mining industry. Williams black hair was stained with dirt and he had skin peeling away on the left side of his face. Marcus had a nasty black eye, a broken nose and several large finger shaped bruises on his neck.

"Well. I am very disappointed in both of you. Especially you, Marcus. You are Willy's older brother. You should be looking after him and not fighting yourself! I just got a call from the school. They say the boy that you fought will need six stitches on his head and will need a plaster cast on his leg!" their father shouted, with obvious disappointment leaking into his voice.

The boys sniggered at this, but quickly ran out of their father's office before he could yell at them again. William then turned to his brother with a massive grin on his face.

"That was bloody brilliant! Cheers, bruv!" William said, grinning like a black Chester cat.

"Bloody brilliant? Are you kidding Willy? You could of gotten us both killed. Not to mention the fact that Dad is as mad as hell at us. Next time, either grow up or fight your own battles. I'm tired of being second to you at home and responsible for you," Marcus replied and stormed off, leaving William bleeding and upset in the middle of the corridor.

T.B.C.

Next time:

Chapter Two: The teenage troubles!


	2. The Teenage Troubles

Babylon 5: 'Cole and Co.' by DD Agent

No one is actually probably reading this now, but i just want to finish it. This is the product of two days of not paying attention in lessons. Particularly French. Enjoy.

Chapter Two - The Teenage Troubles

Arisia Colony 2 was slightly more stable than 3 was. It was on that colony that the Preparatory School resided. Children came when they were eleven and left when they turned sixteen. It was here that the Cole children went to school, and it was here that they were made or broken.

Edward was adored. Sporty but intelligent. A ladies man but loyal. He had been the big man on campus, never picked on, when he went there. Unlike his brothers, Edward had his hair trimmed short and gelled back in a mild side parting. His uniform was always neat and his tie and blazer was always ironed to perfection.

Fabian had his moments. He was into writing, poetry mostly and tried to keep out of the spotlight. Sometimes, he had been asked by the boys in the older years to write their coursework and he took it on with great satisfaction. With a 10 finders fee for Edward of course. Fabian went with the whole writers look and had his brown hair cut to his shoulders.

William was always getting picked on by the older boys. He was a wild card and a mild braniac who was always picking fights with those that were bigger than him. Will's hair changed rapidly per week. One week it was deep black to match his brothers. The next, it was bottle blonde and the one after that was deep blue.

Eleanor was a sweet and innocent child with a mean streak that came out after spending time with her friends. Her black hair hung down to her waist and her green hair was always framed with a thick coat of mascara. She was thirteen when Marcus left school, and she had her own group of miniature 'plastics'. Dressed in short skirts and even shorter blouses, they proved that no matter what century you were in you still had the 'cool' people.

Marcus, on the other hand, was an enigma. The girls in the younger years adored his sweet good looks and his sense of humour. The girls in _his_ year sometimes looked at him like he was a particularly gruesome sort of bug. But there were others who viewed him as a particularly sexy knight in shining armour. The boys in his year viewed him as a weirdo and a freak. The boys in his year hated his guts.

"Whoopsy Daisy Cole!" mumbled Paul Rose as he tripped his arch rival onto the linoleum floor. Marcus' books went spilling onto the floor. English, Theatre Studies, History and Culture exercise books went flying three metres down the corridor. His other books only fell a few feet. Charles Dickens, Stephen King and his own thick pad full of his own observations about his year group.

Paul picked up the thick was of paper and started flicking through it. Notes on his teachers, the kids in his classes. Every incident where Paul and his group had picked on him was in there. And in between the words in inky copperplate was pictures and notes about Leila Matthews, Marcus' unrequited love.

Leila Matthews was beautiful. Blonde hair with natural brown highlights topped off with bottomless blue eyes made her irresistible to the opposite sex. Smart, especially in Maths and English Literature; and talented, in Drama and Dance: she was Marcus' ideal woman. She was also Paul's girlfriend of two years.

"What the hell are you doing with pictures of my girlfriend you perverted weirdo?" Paul yelled.

Scrambling for his school books, Marcus didn't see the bully hoist the back of his collar up and push him up against the row of chrome lockers. A sharp right hook with thick knuckles struck Marcus' cheek and knocked the future ranger unconscious.

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Waking up two hours later in the medical room, Marcus was greeted to the faces of his older and younger siblings.

"Little brother, what have you got yourself into this time?" Edward asked, ruffling his baby brother's hair.

"I fell in love with a beautiful girl, but her boyfriend wasn't too impressed," Marcus grumbled, shifting himself to a sitting position.

"Who's the girl?" Eleanor asked, flicking her hair back. She wasn't really paying attention, she was trying to insert her data crystals into her music player. Cursing his sisters need for detail, Marcus gave her the name.

"Leila Matthews"

Eleanor, as this point, burst out laughing, her crystals spilling on to the floor. Will also started to giggle but he fell off the bed. Ignoring this rather painful fact, he then began to roll around on the floor.

"Who's her boyfriend?" Fabian asked, comforting his little brother by rubbing his shoulder.

"Paul Rose,"

"Prick," came the hyperventilated reply of Will Cole.

All the Cole's then gathered on the bed and started joking with him, trying to make him laugh. Their parents, Daniel and Abigail Cole had not arrived to pick their children up from school. But for that moment in time it was just the Cole children. Just family.

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The last day at school was marred with Marcus' and Paul's fight. They had completed their exams and the year was having a party at Francesca Morgan's house. She was one of the richest members of the school and her family was the lucky one that owned Arisia Colony 2. The redheaded rugby star was one of the most popular among the year group and has been chosen to host the party. Her parents were good friends with a Centauri, Lord Refa, and had been invited to stay for a week with his house. And so the party had begun.

Paul Rose, Ashley Cox, Adam Wiseman, Mauricio Fenn, Tim Walker and Dean Davies, the popular boys in both smarts and sports; were in attendance. The year 11 plastics: Natalie Beckett, Laura Galion, Melissa Kiel and Gemma Fox were also present. Eleanor Cole was also there with her junior plastics, against her fathers orders. Leila was there too with her art and culture gang. They were reminiscent of the nineteen seventies beautiful people. In fact, Leila's best friend Dickey Clarke mildly resembled Terence Stamp. Marcus mildly resembled King Arthur.

That was probably because it was a fancy dress party.

Marcus had only a few friends in his year group, and they had all come as members of the Camelot court. Jasper had arrived with real chain mail and as Sir. Bedevere. Mason had come in an old tunic and was pretending to be Sir. Lancelot. Fabian, Marcus' older brother who wasn't in their year and shouldn't really be there anyway, was Merlin. Will and his bunch of year 9 misfits (who were about to gate crash the party) were dressed as Earth Force officers.

And there posed a problem as they had nicked the uniforms from one of the Earth transports docked at Arisia 3. Bringing up the rear of Marcus' friends was tomboy and Marcus obsessed historian Gwen. She was wearing a Centauri Dress that she had borrowed off an old friend of hers. Gwen was dressed as Lady Guinivere, and was extremely happy that she was Marcus' wife.

If only for tonight.

If only for pretend.

If only he didn't want to impress that goddamn Leila Matthews.

Leila's triple damned boyfriend Paul was dressed in his fathers old GROPOS uniform. He had fought under General Richard Franklin, and had been highly commended. It was Paul's last night as a civilian, as he was applying to Earth Force in the morning. And to celebrate that fact, he was going to get his arty girlfriend in between the sheets.

"Hey baby, how you going?" Paul asked his girl. Leila turned round and he could see that she was dressed as a mild mannered hippy, including peace signs.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Guess what? I got accepted into Proxima Community College!" Leila squealed with joy, linking her arms around his neck. Paul really didn't care about whether she got accepted to college or not. All that mattered was screwing her in the here and now.

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Marcus was a little bit tipsy. He had drunk quite a lot of punch, and was absolutely sure that Fabian had spiked it. He was even more sure when his elder brother with the two foot long beard dragged his sister away from the punch and made her spit the ribena coloured liquid out.

Mingling with his peers, Marcus was on the look out for Leila. Seeing Ballet dancer slash pyromaniac rebel Dickey Clarke, Marcus asked him where his unrequited love interest was.

"Sorry Cole, Leila went off with Paul Rose 'bout an hour ago. I'm sorry man, I'll let ya know if I see her again,"

Just as the conversation was ending, they passed Paul's bunch of lackeys and Ashley Cox joined the conversation.

"They went upstairs. Paul wanted to pop her cherry before she and he parted ways. I think they're in the master bedroom,"

But Marcus didn't hear the end of his speech. He had started up the stairs just as Ashley had said the word cherry.

Upstairs, Paul was trying to romance Leila in, as Ashley had so correctly identified, the master bedroom. He had taken up a couple of glasses of the spiked punch and lit a few candles. And now, he was kissing her neck and trying to remove her tie dye t- shirt from her torso.

"Paul, I don't want to," Leila mumbled. They had kissed, gone to second base a few times but nothing like this. She wasn't ready, nowhere near.

"Sure you do,"

As his touch turned rough, she started to fight back at him by attempting to push him off her. It was at that point that Marcus burst through the door and tackled him to the plush carpeted floor.

"Leave her alone!" Marcus yelled, his outdated code of honour not impressing anybody, least of all Paul. In turn, he pushed Marcus into the wardrobe, and started beating him with one of the broken glasses.

"You retarded arsehole! Why the hell did you have to interfere, huh? HUH?" Paul yelled, smashing the glass over Marcus' face.

"PAUL! STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" Leila shouted so loud that even the guests downstairs could hear her. Leila gave Paul a nasty kick to the groin and ran out of the trashed room. The amateur rapist followed, leaving Marcus to crawl bloodied and full of glass fragments out of the danger zone.

Downstairs, everything was calm. This was mostly because six members of Earth Force had sat all the members of the party on the sofas and had called the police. When they arrived, Paul was charged with attempted rape. Will and his ragtag bunch of friends were charged with theft and trespassing on Earth property. Fabians charge didn't have a specific name, but it was in relation to spiking drinks. Many of the kids were charged with under age drinking and drug taking. Marcus was taken to hospital.

xxx

Marcus awoke to find his arms and legs aching and the left side of his face covered in a thick pink gung. Flowers adorned his room, and present too was his father.

"I see you're awake. About time," Daniel Cole spoke, his voice and tone thick with adoration.

"I'm sorry," Marcus replied, his voice a mere croak. Paul had cut near his jugular vein and close to his voice box.

"You tried to protect a young woman from being raped, son. I'm not disappointed in you," his father reassured, stoking his sons head. "The other three is another question entirely,"

Fabian, Will and Eleanor entered at this point, their heads hanging low. Will looked resentful at their father, with the angriest eyes he had ever seen. Edward had mentioned on one of his less frequent visits that Will had been kept under house arrest by their father. Fabian had to wait another year before he could go to university on Earth. Eleanor had banned from shopping and from seeing her boyfriend.

When his family had left, Leila had turned up. She was dressed a lot more modestly than usual in jeans and a baggy black jumper. She brought the plastic chair near to his bed, and that's when he realised something. He didn't love her anymore: she had changed. He knew it shouldn't matter what she want through, but it did. She wasn't the same strong untouchable person she once was.

"Paul can't join Earth Force anymore, not after an attempted rape charge. He's going to have to try his hand at medicine. His father practically crucified him. Paul's dad was so looking forward to having another soldier in the family," Leila updated, still not looking directly at him or his injuries.

"If you're trying to make me feel sorry for him, you're wasting your time. He attacked me and tried to rape you. I hate him more now than I ever did at school."

"His life has just been ruined!" Leila exclaimed.

"And if I had come in just a few minutes later or not at all, the same would have happened to you," Marcus shot back.

Leila looked ashamed at this revelation. She patted his hand and made to leave when Marcus, tearful and croaky, made his last speech to her.

"I loved you, you know,"

"I know,"

She went out the door, and left Marcus with the fragrant smell of wilting flowers. That was the last time he ever spoke to Leila, and the last time he ever spoke to many of his old school friends.


	3. University and Gilbert and Sulivan

Babylon 5: 'Cole and Co.' by DD Agent

Enjoy this one chaps, it has more Giolbert and Sulivan.

Chapter Three: University and Gilbert and Sullivan

Dad was working. Mum was taking Eleanor and Will to school. Edward was working for a major corporation on Mars. Fabian was at university in Yorkshire, Earth. Everyone was working and going about their everyday routine when Marcus received his letter. It was a letter from Orion University, situated on a small colony world nearer to Earth than Arisia was.

It was located in the capital, and was surrounded by green fields. The university had offered Marcus a place in one of their special scholarship courses. There were three lots of lessons to choose from three different bands:

English Literature /English Language/ Media Studies

Archaeology/History of Earth Culture/ Ancient Languages

Theatre Studies/ Music/ Dance

Marcus had heard of this program years ago, while he was still at school. He had wanted to go straight there at sixteen, into one of their junior programs. Unfortunately, his father had needed the money and his hands to help with the family mining business. But now, business was booming; and Marcus would have to pay no money to live and study there.

When everyone had come home from dinner that night, Marcus gave them the letter. His mother and father were ecstatic. His father looked so proud of him, and his mother had even started crying. Eleanor smiled and congratulated Marcus, but her eyes didn't show her happiness for her older brother. She was in her own little world, and god help anything that tried to breach it. Will gave a brief nod and sauntered off to his room. Ever since the incident with the Earth Force uniforms, Will had never been the same.

Marcus and his parents discussed it late into the night, and they came to an agreement. He could go; as long as he called home every Friday night, and came home for the holidays. His mother didn't even mind if he brought home all his dirty washing, she'd be happy just to have him back. They also talked early into the morning about what courses he should take. His mother wanted him to take English Literature, as he always had his head in a book. Marcus wanted to take Theatre Studies as he was always acting dramatically. His father had put his foot down on Archaeology and insisted he take History of Earth Culture.

Two months later of constant fussing, lots of 'my son is going to university, you know!' and Will's snarky remarks, Marcus left Arisia colony and was on his way to Orion 6. Arriving, Marcus was astounded. The campus was huge, and there was a ton of people. After getting lost a few times, he finally made his way to the administration building and got the keys to his dorm room.

Prometheus Wing, room 6. Entering, Marcus saw that it was an absolute tip. Clothes were strung everywhere, crystals were deposited all around the room, and several large film posters covered the walls. His roommate was called James, and the woman at the administration building had some choice things to say about him.

He was trouble.

He had a mouth on him.

Stay aware young man, or you'll end up just like him.

Behind him, a door opened, and in came James. He had untidy hair that came down into his eyes, and was dyed green. He had small amber eyes that made him look like a hawk. His clothes were black, and he had a pentagram necklace around his neck. Back home on Arisia, he would have been Will's friend. Marcus would never have gone near him.

"Hello. Guess you're my new roommate eh?" James asked, sliding past Marcus and jumping on his bed.

"Yes. My name is Marcus Cole. I'm from Arisia Colony 3," Marcus answered, nervously licking his lips.

"A miners son huh? Impressive. Me, I'm from Proxima 3. Born in London on England and then moved half way across the galaxy when I was two. Funny old world isn't it? But you and me, Marcus…we are going to have a lot of fun. That, I know for sure,"

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Over the next few months, Marcus kept up at University. He had a gift for analysing books and plays and remembering the quotes from them. He was a talented little performer who could act almost anything. He had an eye and a memory for looking at different cultures.

He had made new friends of course. James, naturally, was his right hand man and best friend. Michael, Tom and Harry were new buddies who had earned a scholarship too. Emma, Jess and Holly were friends of Marcus too, and they were taking a proper course. Marcus got on well with all the teachers, especially with a certain Ms. Thompson. She was his English Literature teacher, and he respected her greatly. She was an inspirational woman, and had improved Marcus' love for Shakespeare.

She had red hair that hung in a frame around her face, with blue eyes that were as deep as Marcus' own. They got on well together, talking for ages after classes and seeing each other occasionally in the hall. James had been transferred from Media Studies to English Literature after he had played his Zombie X soundtrack over the PA system.

"Marcus, what are we going to do for our presentation?" James asked, pretending to surf on his bed.

The two men had been paired up for their English Lit. assignment which was to perform or describe the single greatest literature piece, in their opinion, from the nineteenth century. This would count for 50 of their grade and decide whether they would last to the end of the semester. Marcus had wanted to do Shakespeare, but that was seventeenth century.

"Sherlock Holmes? Great Expectations? Jane Eyre?" Marcus fired off while completing his script for his Theatre Studies lesson the next day.

"Boring! Lets do _Pirates of Penzance_!" James yelled, acting like a hyperactive child and began to start bouncing on his bed.

"What? We can't do that James," Marcus mumbled, finishing the last few words and began to count them.

"Yes we can. Gilbert and Sullivan, the 1879 opera: _Pirates of Penzance_!" James shouted, acting theatrically before falling off his cot.

"You should have done Theatre Studies. And, deciding that, what the hell are we going to perform?"

"I am the Very Model of a Major General,"

Marcus was worried; James had that glint in his eye.

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Two weeks later, and it was presentation day. Some had performed large chunks of Literature from Dickens to Bronte. The last act to perform was Marcus and James. Ms. Thompson was waiting anxiously as the two men went up to the front dressed in old army wear.

"Hi. I'm Marcus Cole and this is James Whitby,"

"We are going to perform a song in the 1879 opera by Gilbert and Sullivan. The song that we are going to sing is from _Pirates and Penzance_: I am the Very Model of a Major General," James announced and set to put the music on.

"I am the very model of a modern Major-General,

I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,

I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical

From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;

I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,

I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,

About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news,

With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse,"

"I'm very good at integral and differential calculus;

I know the scientific names of beings animalculous:

In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,"

"I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's;

I answer hard acrostics, I've a pretty taste for paradox,

I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus,

In conics I can floor peculiarities parabolous;

I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies,

I know the croaking chorus from The Frogs of Aristophanes!

Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore,

And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore,"

"Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform,

And tell you ev'ry detail of Caractacus' uniform:

In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,"

"In fact, when I know what is meant by "mamelon" and "ravelin",

When I can tell at sight a Mauser rifle from a javelin,

When such affairs as sorties and surprises I'm more wary at,

And when I know precisely what is meant by "commissariat",

When I have learnt what progress has been made in modern gunnery,

When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery—

In short, when I've a smattering of elemental strategy—

You'll say a better Major-General has never sat a-gee,"

"For my military knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury,

Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century;

But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,"

The two performed excellently, harmonising in the right places and getting the plummy acent just right. Everyone was astounded, but applauded none the less. The two bowed and sat down.

"Well, that was an inspirational performance. I'll post your grades on the board outside this weekend and we can discuss them on Monday. Have a nice day kids,"

James leapt out of the room, and a lot of the classmates followed his example. Ms. Thompson waylaid Marcus as he left the room and made him sit down.

"Marcus, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine Ms. Thompson. Why?" he asked his teacher. He hadn't noticed any change in his attitude over the past few weeks, and he hadn't received any bad orf unsettling news.

"It's just, when you first joined my class, you seemed so much bigger and brighter than everyone else. Now, you've kind of faded into the background.

I think it's the addition of James to the class. Maybe it would be best if you two seperated. You seem to fade back into the shadows when he is around,"

Marcus was about to respond when Gilly, one of his classmates ran in.

"You gotta come to the video room now. Something is on the news,"

Marcus and Ms. Thompson followed Gilly to the video room where many of the students and teachers were crowded around a monitor. ISN was playing.

"We can confirm that Earth is at war. Once again, Earth is at war,"


	4. The War

Babylon 5: 'Cole and Co.' by DD Agent

Chapter Four: The War 

Three years later, and the Earth/ Minbari war was not going well. Hundreds were killed by the day, and the Minbari jihad had esculated to a massacre. Marcus Cole carried a gun, but never used it. Marcus Cole wore green armour, but never needed it. He protected civillians on Proxima 3, watching the populace die out.

He had visited James' family on Proxima, but not as a friend. He and James had signed up at the same time when the planetary draft came into action. However, the training had been too tough for him, and he had took his own life. No laughter in the camps, days and days of bad news had driven James to suicide.

Marcus had hated tellling them that their son was dead. Even more so when he told them that James had commited suicide. His mother had burst into tears. His father held his wife in his arms as she wept. James' little sister Callie just stared at Marcus. He reminded her so much of Eleanor it was heartbreaking. Marcus felt like an outsider, creeping in and spying on their personal pain. He didn't like that feeling.

He hadn't seen his sister in a while. Nor any of his family for about a year. Marcus wrote letters to his mother every day though. Whether they got to Arisia Colony was another matter entirely. His father was proud of him, fighting for his race. Dad had been prevented from joining as he provided a service already: producing Quantiam 40 for ships. Edward had signed up straight away. Fabian, on the other hand…

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_"I don't want to join," Fabian's answer was simple. Marcus had returned home to talk to his father and get his blessing before joining up. Edward had already joined and was training to be a pilot. Fabian, however, did not want to serve Humanity. _

_"You don't want to? This is fighting to save the entire human species, not homwork for one of your obscure classes!" their father shouted back. Fabian's answer had not really shocked any one, he wasn't very sporty or brauny. But, everyone thought that his sense of patriotism would come through. _

_"This is my life, and I choose what I want to do. I don't want to waste it on a pointless death,"_

_"Pointless! You would be dying to protect people! Citizens! Friends!"_

_"That I have never met! I want to dedicate my life to writing, not fighting. I am a pacifist father, and I will not fight the Minbari," _

_Fabian stormed out, leaving his fathers blood pressure to rise. Marcus followed his brother quietly while his mother tried to comfort Daniel Cole. _

_"You shouldn't join either Marcus," Fabian said when Marcus found him sitting outside their home. _

_"But I want to fight, I want to help people,"_

_"And killing another sentient being is all right? Because we're saving our own? In heaven or hell it will not matter what race we are, all that will matter is the state of our souls,"_

_"That's beautiful Fabian, but it doesn't address the issue at hand," _

_"No, it doesn't. I hope I see you again little brother, but if I don't…good luck," Fabian patted his sibling on the shoulder and swung a bag over his own. Walking away from their own homestead, Fabian didn't even look back._

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Marcus looked out into the burnt out buildings of Proxima 3 and cursed the Minbari. Walking through the streets with his squadron, he noticed the orphans on the streets begging for food. But there wasn't any to be had, and any had to go to the soldiers to keep them active and healthy.

Barry, Marcus' friend in the team gestured for the group to sit down and take out their cardboard tasting cereal bars.

"This is pure crap Marcus. The Minbari have gotten us. We're toast," Barry muttered, ripping open his bar and breaking off a piece. They looked like cardboard. Tasted like cardboard. Just enough to keep you going. It's the only thing that Earth Force could afford to feed their soldiers.

"Don't say that. We can win this," Marcus replied, but the words sounded hollow in his ears.

"We can only hope to survive it," Barry returned melodramatically as a courier came bearing post from the soldiers familys.

"Jenkins! Matthews! Roberts!" shouted the courier as he handed out letters.

Marcus looked wistfully at the men and women opening their letters, knowing that some carried happy news of family members. Others carried tragic news of family killed in action or killed in an attack by the Minbari. That was a situation that Marcus was all to familiar with.

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_"So you're being stationed at Proxima? Fantastic," Marcus' father praised over breakfast when the topic of the war_ _came up. Marcus had returned home for a weeks break before being stationed to what would be his final posting. _

_His family hadn't heard from Fabian since he had left, not that anyone was expecting him to write. Still, their mother was dying for a letter from her sons. Edward hadn't written in a while, but at least they knew where he was. He was stationed on one of the destroyers as a starfury pilot, and was enjoying the military life. Edward thought he was doing something beneficial to humanity. _

_Eleanor and Will had stayed behind to help their parents with the business. Not much profit was made due to the war. The Earth Force ships needed a great supply of Quantiam 40 and didn't have the funds to pay for it. This worried the elder Cole and had made him ill thinking about it. _

_A knock on the door stopped the silence, and Marcus went to tell whoever it was to bugger off. On the doorstep was Brent, a miner who collected the crystals and letters sent around. He gave Marcus a small letter and nodded sympathetically. _

_Marcus' legs felt heavy as he walked back to the kitchen. His breathing had become shallow, and his stomach was about to throw up the reconstituted cereal he had had for breakfast. _

_"Son? What is it?" his father asked, clambering to see the letter. He pulled it out of Marcus' hands and unwrapped the seal of the Earth Alliance. _

_"_Dear Mr and Mrs Cole,

I am sorry to inform you that your son, Edward Cole, has been killed in action. He was fighting a group of Minbari Cruisers with his squadron, part of the EAS Lexington, when he passed away.

All of us here at the EAS Lexington are very sorry for your loss. Edward was a good man and a benefit to the ship. If it is any consolation, your sons sacrifice was one of many that provided us with the chance to destroy the flagship of the Minbari fleet.

Yours faithfully,

Commander John. J. Sheridan_"_

_"Dad? What's wrong?" Eleanor asked, her voice going to a terrified squeak. _

_"Edward's dead," _

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Marcus watched them open their letters. Jenkins burst into tears of joy and started yelling "It's a boy! It's a boy!" at the top of his voice. Matthews screwed up the letter and looked straight on. Roberts burst promptly into tears and began to weap heavily on her neighbour.

"You lost anyone so far Barry?" Marcus asked as he watched Sarah Roberts crack under the pressure. She had been talking for weeks about how her father was flying with fire in Earth Force's top squadron. From Marcus' point of view, it seemed that Craig Robert's had not made it through.

"Hasn't everyone? You lost your brother didn't you?"

"Yeah. Edward was killed taking out the Black Star. Got a medal and everything once the whole incident calmed down," Marcus replied.

"Good on him. Kill as many bone heads as you can, that's my motto," Barry muttered.

"Yeah, I think that's everyones," Marcus replied sadly.

"What? Right boys and girls, time to move out!" Barry yelled, never giving a glance to his hysterical officer.

Marcus had noticed that Barry didn't show any affection. Any emotion. It was almost like he had become dead inside due to the war. Many of the officers that Marcus worked with had the same haunted appearance and attitude. He scratched at the faint scar on his neck, a memory of saving a young woman long ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he was tackling Paul Rose and saving the love of his life.

The fate of his old school friends and college buddies were still unknown to Marcus. Unfortunately, some of his friends hadn't been so lucky when it came to the Minbari. Jasper had been killed by a bomb and Gwen had been hospitalied after being vicioulsy attacked and raped by a member of the Minbari warrior caste.

Opening up his own breakfast bar, he realised that this wouldn't make him less hungry. Just pathetically content in his stomach. Making sure that Barry wasn't in view, he gave his bar to the starving girl he saw on the side of the makeshift road. She promptly ran inside and gave it to her mother. The pathetic four inch bar was split between the family of six. Barely a meal.

Marcus hated this.

Xxx

The group returned to their base, which was loacted in the south of the main city. The base itself was a piddly little structure consisting of three rooms. A tiny bathroom had to hold both male and female members of the 20 person squadron. The living quarters was the coldest room, and where the soldiers had to sleep on sqeaky matteresses.

The main control room faced the east. Monitoring machines and basic weaponary covered the bare room. The equiptment was crap and hardly fuctional while the walls were painted a dismal grey. One monitor stood out from the rest as it was always switched on to ISN. A newsreader was displayed on the screen, nervous and shaking.

"We have news just in. Rumours from the front line say that the Minbari have surrendered. The Minbari surrendered on the eve of victory, at the Battle of the Line. Both governments are now in talks, and we can now confirm. The war IS over," the newsreader spoke, her voice trembling.

Barry stared around and immediately slumped to the floor. He pulled his helmet off and began to stare at his comrades. His face looked absolutely crestfallen. Marcus turned to see his everyone else shouting and yelling for joy. Even Roberts managed a smile. The war was over. One man ran outside and began to yell the happy news to the population of Proxima 3. Jenkins, the brand new Daddy, handed a letter to Marcus.

"Marcus, this is for you. Must have gotten lost somewhere,"

Marcus took the letter and opened it with trembling fingers. Scanning the letter quickly, he looked up. His father had had a stroke.


	5. Working to Death

**Chapter Five: Working to Death**

Marcus was dressed in black. As were many of the workers on Arisia Colony 2. After his father had had a stroke due to the stress the war put on his company, Daniel Cole had gotten ever so much more sick. Marcus had rushed straight home from the war and began to help out. As his father's heart problems got so much more terrifying, Marcus took the reigns of the company.

His heart gave out last week in his sleep. His mother had awoken to find his father dead beside her and immediately yelled out for Marcus. The funeral was a rather poor affair, cheap and dismal, as there wasn't enough money to have a nice one.

His mother was dressed in her widows wear, a black dress and hat which looked shabby compared to what some of the miners were wearing. Will had came to say goodbye for about five minutes and left. Eleanor stood there with her boyfriend Max before leaving with their daughter Janie. His little sister had been close to their parents and was taking it harder than Marcus was.

Fabian had not come. They had posted a note in Universe Today and several smaller publications to tell him. But he wasn't present, and even if he was told, it was unlikely that he would want to say goodbye to their father. Their last argument had broke Daniel Cole's heart, and stress had begun to seep in from there.

Leaving his mother for only a moment, Marcus went to the nearest bathroom and promptly threw up. He had been doing that a lot since his Dad had passes away. Showing no outward signs of grief had been burned into him since the days of the War and had not been culled. No tears, no moping in the corner. Just an inability to keep any food down and throwing up anything that did.

Returning to his room pale and sweating, Marcus saw that his brother was perched gingerly on his bed. He had been crying, and his face was streaky with his tears.

"I wrote to him weekly you know," Will spoke in the darkness. Marcus stayed where he was, afraid that Will was going to do something stupid.

"When he left, Fabian gave me the address of where he was going to be staying. Yorkshire, England. You know how old England attracted him. I started writing to him, telling him everything of what was happening here. When Dad died, I told him. I said that Dad had died from his heart and we needed him to come back,"

It was only then that Marcus noticed the screwed up letter in his little brother's hand.

"He wrote back:

Dear Will,

I heard about father's death. There were adverts posted in Universe Today and other papers that I read. Was it Marcus' idea? I bet it was. I am so sorry to tell you Willy that I will not come to say goodbye to father.

I will say goodbye to him when I pass on, and only then. In this world, I am an angry person, with most of that anger directed at our dear father. I would not like to come and ruinine what is the last chance many of our misguided family and friends has to say goodbye.

Goodbye Dear Willy, and I will see you again.

Love,

Fabain Cole X"

Will began to cry heavily as he finished reading the letter out loud. Marcus went to comfort his brother, but he leapt off the bed angrily.

"This is all your fault. He would have come if you hadn't been here," Will shouted. His voice was slurring and words were starting to meld together. It was obvious that he was drunk.

"Willy, you don't know that," Marcus tried. He just ducked the bottle of gin that Will had thrown at his head.

"MY NAME IS NOT WILLY!"

And with that, Will collapsed on the floor. Marcus held his baby brother for hours on the cold hard floor till he drifted off to sleep.

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One year on, and both Will and Eleanor had left Arisia. Will had not said a word since he had gotten hammered at their fathers funeral. Eleanor had broken things off with her lover, and was now married to some burecrate on Mars. Fabian was still missing, as Will had refused to give up his address. Edward and Dad was dead in the ground. Marcus was the walking dead.

Taking over the company hadn't been the smartest thing he had ever done. In actual fact, it was probably the stupidest. He got four hours of sleep a night if he was lucky. His skin was becoming paler by the day. They needed a new planetary forecaster, and he was interviewing Hasina Madisa today. She was beautiful and exotic next to his pale English skin.

"Would you like to sit down Ms. Madisa?" Marcus offered, gesturing with his right hand. The circles around his eyes were getting deeper and deeper by the day.

"Thank you Mr. Cole. Please, feel free to call me Hasina," she thanked as she sat on one of the ridgid chairs that inhabbited his office.

"What makes you feel that you could be our new forecaster?" Marcus asked, his voice feeling as if it was going to give out at any second.

"I believe I offer a strong work ethic…" she continued on, but Marcus zoned her out. Something felt wrong in him, something dark and foreboding. Like someone had just walked over his grave. He new instantly what was wrong, as it has been the same feeling he had gotten when his father had passed away.

He cut her off with a sweep of his hand.

"Do you mind if we reconvene this at another time? I really need to do something," Marcus explained, his voice slowing.

She nodded and left his office without a word. Picking up his jacket and making sure he wasn't shaking in any way he left the black hole his office had become and walked slowly down the corridor.

Being in charge of the company had its benefits, one of them being respect. Every time he passed a worker, they nodded or said 'good morning, sir'. Marcus paid no attention to them, his aim being on not collapsing in a weaping heap.

Going into his mothers cabin, he saw the last shred of his family lying in their bed. She still looked beautiul, her silvery blonde hair shining, and the wrinkles becoming her rather than making her look old. His feet and heart felt heavy as he walked over to her bedside. Marcus felt for a pulse on his mothers wrist. There was none.

The world went black as he collapsed to the cold floor. A while later, he picked himself up and went to alert the colony doctor.

He planned the funeral and said goodbye to his mother.

He hired Hasina as the new forecaster.

And he went back to work, machine man forever.


	6. The Cole Siblings

**Chapter Six: The Cole Siblings**

Dear Eleanor,

I hope you are well, and I hope that my niece and brother in law are too. I should have written to you earlier, but things have been more than busy.

Willy died when Arisia blew, as well you knew. But I did not, as I am writing this letter to you today. He was part of an organisation called the rangers, which I'm sure you have heard about on Clarks political puppet ISN. After he died, I decided to take up the mantle.

Minbar was better than I thought, considering how I spent my years in the war. The archetecture was beautiful, and the people even more so. If you ever have a chance to go visit it Ellie, I suggest you do so. But maybe not for a few years, the civil war back there has taken all the beauty out of it.

But, back to the Rangers. They weren't a cult as I first feared, you know the antics and things that Willy got up to. They were in fact, something infintiely better. They are dedicated on peace, little sister, and I was only to happy to join up and avenge Willy's death. You see, a race known to us as the shadows destroyed our home, and the rangers were dedicated on stopping them.

After my training, I was sent to Zagros 7, a Drazi colony. Lets just say that their cooking left much to be desired. But, after that, I was stationed on Babylon 5. Remember how you used to talk about going there all the time? It's wonderful, although the place does make you go crazy.

I met some wonderful people on Babylon 5 while fighting the shadows. Susan Ivanova would have to be my favourite. She's beautiful and brilliant. I know what you're thinking, Marcus and his unrequited love all over again. But, I know she feels the same way, I just _know _it.

We defeated the shadows, easier saif than done, believe me. Now we're working on Earth. I hope you're safe on Mars Ellie, I really do. We're dropping out of hyperspace, I've got to go.

All my love,

Marcus xxx

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Dear Mrs. Eleanor Carter

I am sorry to inform you that your brother Marcus Cole passed away. He was a good friend to all of us here on Babylon 5. He survived fighting the shadows, the Earth Alliance only to die to save the love of his life, Susan Ivanova. She is now a starship captain and is living her life thanks to your brothers noble sacrifice.

I know that both of your brothers: Marcus and William, had become rangers. Both of them have died in service to the Instellar Alliance and the peace that we have created. Their names will be remembered for eternity, through their acts.

Marcus didn't talk much about his family. He mentioned Will on occasion, but only as the reason why he joined the rangers. I do not know if you will be angry about this, but it is my understanding that he found talking about his past painful.

I am so very sorry for your loss,

Yours,

Delenn of Mir

Entilzha of the Rangers.

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Dear Fabian,

I think that you are absolutely nuts. I really do. Will died trying to be a hero, and so did Marcus. Edward died fighting the Minbari, and now you're going to work with them? Are you insane?

I know that you always regretted leaving, and I know that you blame yourself for Marcus and Will's death. But, if you join these bloody rangers then the only death you will cause is your own.

Please reconsider Fabian,

All my love,

Your loving sister Eleanor.

P.S. Don't do this Fabian!

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Dear Admiral Ivanova,

Included in this letter is everything I know about my brother. He kept detailed diaries which he kept on him at all times. I hope this helps in understanding my pillock of a little brother. He loved me, loved Will, loved Eleanor, loved Edward and he loved our parents. But among all things, he loved us all together as a family. 'Cole and co.' was what he nicknamed the company. Talking to my little sister, it seems that he mentioned you to her, and that he was in love with you. All though this may be painful to hear, I believe you have to know.

Entilzha veni

Ranger Fabian Cole.


End file.
